As digital marketing strategies have continued to evolve over time, we’ve discovered little tricks of the trade here and there that can be easily utilized by companies of all sizes. I decided to compile a few of my favs in a handy little list (or as some would call it….a blog post) below.
Designed to help develop and perfect your digital content, SEMrush provides analytics reports on organic research, advertising research, display advertising, keyword research and more. Why is it great? You can see what search phrases your website (and competitors’ websites) are appearing for most in Google and Bing. With SEMrush, you get a couple of free searches when you create an account. After that, it’s $99 a month. Once you’re armed with that data, you can craft your content strategy around your strengths and shore up your SEO weaknesses.
This tool allows you to see exactly how users navigate through your site in an easy-to-digest, visual layout. While Google analytics and tags can also help with this (which we also suggest implementing), the biggest value we see with Hotjar is its visual nature. You can watch a video recording of a user’s entire visit to your site (creepy, right?), and you can view heatmaps, which show the visual behavior on your page, like where people are clicking and scrolling the most. Even if you’re working with a limited budget, Hotjar has flexibility to gather data cost effectively. You can try their business account free for 15 days (typically $89 per month), or the basic account is completely free.
While we’re on the topic of usability, another MindFire favorite for staying up-to-date with the latest UX trends is the Neilson Norman group. Their reports are data-packed and free to access.
Looking to further your marketing expertise? “Inbound” is HubSpot’s annual conference that brings together more than 20,000 attendees who are passionate about marketing and business. And while they usually bring in some famous speakers and thought leaders from the industry, this event comes with a hefty ticket price. Luckily, Inbound puts LITERALLY all of their sessions online. It’s a great place to learn more about marketing trends and insight in the digital realm – on everything from lead generation and capture to email marketing and more.
Another favorite is Marketing Profs. There, you can take courses, read articles, listen to podcasts and so much more. While some content needs to be purchased, there is plenty that is free and accessible to all. Regardless of the price, Marketing Profs’ content is super valuable and thought-provoking stuff!
There you have it – a quick list of a few marketing resources I like to keep up my sleeve (that is now out of my sleeve and living on the interweb for all to see).
If you have any other favorites that have given you this reaction…
…then we want to hear about them!
